Navigating among points of view and time shifts is a feat for a seasoned author, but debut Joanna Copeland manages this easily in her thriller, OUR KIND OF GAME (Harper, July 2024).
Stella is an attractive, middle-aged woman with a beautiful family and McMansion. Residing in the affluent area of McLean, Virginia, she’s spent her life pretending to fit a certain role while feeling like an outsider. Then one night, a neighbor from three blocks over limps into Stella’s yard, aiming a few choice phrases that unbury the past for Stella. After escorting the woman home, Stella finds her dropped phone and believes certain messaged threats are meant for her. Someone knows what Stella did, long ago, and might upend the perfect life she’s built for herself.
The book then flashes to Julie, a poor girl who dreams of becoming a cheerleader while dealing with a skeezy boyfriend of her mother’s and snobby, manipulative girls. Julie is wonderfully drawn–a stronger, more sympathetic character than Stella–and a reader will find themselves rushing through the pages, hoping that all will turn out right for Julie.
But in a thriller like this one, does a girl like that ever escape unscathed?
Via these alternating perspectives, which eventually also includes Julie’s older sister, Copeland ties the past and present, creating a narrative that addresses the causes and cycles of abuse and destructive behavior while teasing out an engaging story about survival. (Note–some triggers exist, including rape and abuse). What did Stella do to achieve this perfect life, and what secrets need to stay buried?
Our Kind of Game’s overarching theme is the lengths we’ll go to in order to protect her own. It’s a point well-made, with one caveat. Here, had one particular character acted differently–very differently– would this protection have been necessary?
It’s an interesting talking point, and this novel has many.
Sarah Reida is a writer of dark comedy thrillers. Her Kirkus-starred/Kirkus editorial pick adult debut, Neighborhood Watch, is Desperate Housewives meets Agatha Christie. In June, was honored as an Amazon editorial pick as one of the Best Books of the Year So Far 2024. As of about five seconds ago, she is shopping for an agent/publisher for her sophomore novel, Murder Boat (Will Dean’s The Last One meets Tropic Thunder). Join Sarah’s elite group of Instagram followers here.
